How to Avoid a Swamp Cooler Disaster with these Winterization Tips.

How To Winterize A Swamp Cooler

As the temperatures start to get low, it’s important to winterize your swamp cooler. This annual evap cooler maintenance is essential to keeping your unit running well for a long time. Failing to do winter maintenance can cause headaches that range from minor to catastrophic for your home. Luckily, there are only a few things that need to be done. 

These include 

• Turn off the power
• Disconnect the water
• Drain the cooler of all water and blow out lines
• Replace or clean the pads
• Clean the cooler of scale, dust, pollen, or other debris using a wet rag and vacuum
• Insert your damper to keep out cold air
• Cover the cooler (optional for extra protection) 

Turn off the power

When doing any swamp cooler maintenance, it is always a good idea to turn off the power first. Well,because the only thing worse than a broken swamp cooler is a trip to the doctor and a broken swamp cooler. All that said, it’s always better to be safe when working around water and electricity. This will also make sure nothing trips during the winter while you are not using your swamp cooler and keeps you safe during the shutdown process. You can either turn off the unit at the breaker box or, if it is plugged in, unplug the unit itself. 

Fully drain and disconnect the swamp cooler from the water.

When winter comes, it is essential to know how to drain a swamp cooler. The swamp cooler and all the lines associated with it must be fully dry. Water expands when it freezes, kind of like the coke can you forgot in the freezer. That expansion in the water lines inside the cooler can cause cracking and leaks when it’s time for startup the following summer. Additionally, if you leave water in the pan, it can lead to other problems. Like rust and corrosion, or even the growth of mold and mildew inside the swamp cooler itself. 

All brands of swamp coolers have a plug in the bottom of the pan that is easy to remove to let all the water drain. Next, it is important to turn off the water to the cooler from the source, fully disconnect the line, remove it, and store it in a dry place so you can use it again next year. 

Replace old pads or clean existing ones. 

After a long summer of use, the pads inside an evaporative cooler can build up dust and other debris. Most pads from Mastercool or Convair units last 2-3 years, but different styles, like Champion, use aspen pads and should be replaced annually. The winter is a great time to clean your swamp cooler pads.first remove them from the unit and give them a good shake; this should dislodge most of the buildup. Then get your hose and backwash the pads. It’s most effective to spray the pads from the front. This technique helps penetrate and loosen the buildup more effectively, making cleaning easier. After completing this step, ensure the pads are reinstalled in the correct orientation. Check the arrow on the side of the pad, and you are good to go. Pro Tip: this will help prevent that fishy smell when you start up again in the summer. 

Vacuum out any debris from inside the cooler.

In evaporative cooler maintenance, cleaning out dust, pollen, and other debris from inside the swamp cooler is important. As the swamp cooler pulls in air all summer, the inside can build up and over time cut the life/productivity of the swamp cooler itself. Once you have replaced the pads and drained the water, it is good to take a vacuum and clean out larger particles first. Then get a rag and some warm, soapy water and wipe down the pan to eliminate the smaller particles that might have accumulated.

Insulate the Swamp Cooler

Swamp cooler ducting  leads directly to the outdoors, which is great in the summer but less than ideal in the winter. To prevent cold drafts from coming into your home and making your furnace work on overdrive, it’s important to insert your damper. If you don’t have one get one installed. If you don’t know what to look for that is ok! The damper slot is normally right before the opening to your swamp cooler. If you don’t use a damper, you may be losing a significant amount of heat out of your swamp cooler. This means your furnace has to work harder to heat your home and higher energy bills for you.  

Optional- cover the swamp cooler. This insulates and protects the unit from outside air and other elements that could cause damage. Plus it also adds an extra level of insulation to keep cold air from getting into your home.  Your local hardware store sells covers for Champion units, and tarps are used on other kinds of coolers. 

Final Thoughts. 

Performing these tasks and learning how to winterize an evaporative cooler is one of the easiest ways to prevent damage, reduce heating costs, and optimize the life of your swamp cooler for years to come. That way you only have to call TLC when it’s time for an upgrade or when it’s an emergency. 

If you don’t want to do all of this yourself, TLC offers swamp cooler changeovers from our fantastic team. Call us today to schedule your changeover appointment.